The New Girl's Wisdom
by PGerv214
Summary: Mikan's class has two new students named Sana Kurata and Akito Hayama. What happens when Sana sees Mikan's feelings for Natsume and tries to give her advice in-order to keep Mikan from going through what she and Akito went through?


_**Hey Everyone (^-^) So this story is a cross over between Kodomo No Omocha and Gakuen Alice! Now, I've thought over this story a couple times. Should it be a one-shot, or a chapter story? Well, after careful consideration (and difficulties with the title! XD hehe!) I decided that I'd make another one-shot before going onto a story I've been DYING to write :) Anyway's, please enjoy the story, and remember, I do not own Gakuen Alice or Kodomo No Omocha!**_

**Mikan's POV-**

"There!" I exclaimed as I glided my pencil across the paper one last time. I smiled brightly as I leaned back to examine my work, only to frown as I tossed my sketch book aside, sighing loudly.

Every morning it was the same. I wake up with the urge to draw, but when I finish the picture, it's always the same thing. Okay, it's not like it's the same _picture _or anything, far from it in fact, each drawing was unique and had it's own character, but what was the same was the _person _in the picture.

Whether he was angry, annoyed, content, or just plain emotionless, he was always there, mocking me in my own drawings. I don't even plan on drawing him! I just grab a pencil and sketch pad and when I'm done, there he is starring back at me.

You're probably wondering who I am, I mean I've been sitting here talking about this guy and my drawings when you don't know anything about me. My name is Mikan Sakura, and I'm one of the many students who attend the prestigious school for geniuses, Alice Academy. The only thing is, it's not really a school for geniuses.

Alice Academy is a school for kids and teenagers with these things called "Alices" which are almost like super powers! My Alice is nullification, I know, it sounds boring but I'm very grateful that I have it. You wanna know why? Well one of my close, and when I say close I mean _close_, friends has the fourth type of Alice. In fact, that same person happens to be the subject of all my drawings!

Okay, you probably don't know what Alice types are, so let me explain. There are four different types of Alices, the first type means you only have your Alice during your childhood, the second type means you have a very strong, powerful Alice, but it has a short life span and tends to be rather explosive. The third kind of Alice is the most common, it's when you have limited use of you Alice, but it lasts for a long time, that's what I have.

Finally, the fourth type of Alice is very deadly. It means your Alice has unlimited power, but the problem is each time you use your it, it eats away at your life span.

Any way's, my friend has said Alice type, so I'm grateful because I can stop him from using his Alice, and save his life. I'm not going to lie, I care about this guy more then anyone knows, well Hotaru, my best friend, knows, but that's because she's a genius. Sometimes I wonder if he knows considering he's even smarter then she is, but I always dismiss the thought because it's way to embarrassing to think about.

Either way, the truth is, I've been totally in love with him since elementary school, and that's a long time considering we're in high school now. The horrid part is, he's Natsume Hyuuga, the most sought after guy in Alice Academy.

Yupp, it's true, I fell for the famous Black Cat, just like practically every girl on campus, but I'm different...I think. I don't really know when I started liking him, but I realized I did the first time he said my name.

Okay so that may seem like I'm saying I loved him since we first met, but no...he didn't call me by my first name until the Alice Festival's "Last Dance", and that's probably a good three or four months after we met. It's strange right? We're complete opposites, yet I can't help but have these feelings towards him, sometimes I go crazy just thinking about it.

At least I can keep my cool when around him, unlike other girls, but that's because we've been through so much together. Good thing he doesn't see how I crash and burn when I think about the events that occurred that day while lying in my bed. I groaned loudly before sitting up and scanning the room quietly, however the silence was soon disturbed when I glanced at my alarm clock.

"Oh crap I'm late!" I screamed before standing up and rushing to the bathroom. I quickly brushed my hair and teeth before running back into my room and changing into my school uniform and putting my hair in pig tails. I then grabbed my bag and ran out the door, locking it in the process. This was just like every other day. I wake up, draw Natsume, sulk over it, then realizing I'm late for school.

As I ran up the path that led to the school, I could hear the loud obnoxious bell's muffled echo, which caused me to quicken my pace. God my teacher is going to kill me! I ran up the stairs, and sprinted to my classroom, skidding to a stop in front of the door. Breathing heavily, I threw the door open and ran in, only to collide with someone, causing us both to fall to the floor.

"Oof!" we both grunted as we landed on the hard tiled floor. I pouted slightly rubbing my back gently before looking up at the person I bumped into only to see a cute girl with red hair and brown eyes starring back at me. What really shocked me however was she, also, had her hair in pig tails.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed as I shot to my feet, holding my hand out to help her up. Once we were both standing we brushed off our skirts and I realized I was being glared at by the boy standing next to her. I looked up at him and noticed he was very attractive, not as much as Natsume, but a close second. He also seemed just as stoic as Natsume and Hotaru.

"It's fine, my name is Sana Kurata! It's nice to meet you! And this jerk is named Akito Hayama" she said gesturing to the boy next to her. I smiled and extended my hand out, shaking hers. Yet when I extended my hand to Akito, he just looked at me like I was crazy, causing me to laugh nervously and pull my hand back.

"My name's Mikan Sakura! It's nice to meet you too, are you a new student in this class?" I asked and then noticed my teacher was giving me a deadly look. I laughed nervously again before shuffling to my seat in the back of the room...next to Natsume. When I sat down, he didn't even acknowledge I was there, and I could tell he was mad by the increase of temperature that only surrounded him.

"As I was saying before the...interruption, Sana and Akito are our new students, meaning they'll need partners. Because Sakura has seemed to befriend them already, she will be Sana's partner, and since that leaves Hyuuga without a partner, Akito will be his new partner." Our teacher stated and I heard Natsume curse under his breath.

"Who's Hyuuga?" Sana asked, and I noticed that Akito didn't seem to care in the slightest. When Natsume made no move to introduce himself, I smiled and raised my hand to get their attention. When Sana and Akito looked up I smiled brightly.

"This is Natsume Hyuuga, he'll seem very rude at first but bear with him, he can be very kind!" I exclaimed and before I had a chance to react, one of my pig tails was on fire. I screamed loudly before nullifying it and glaring at him. "Natsume you jerk! Why do I even try any more!" I yelled and Hotaru turned around and shot me a smug look saying "because your crazy about him".

The class laughed, just like they always do, and the teacher pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed, however I could tell something was different about his mood today. Before I had a chance to apologize, the teacher ran his hand through his hair, an irritated look on his face before glaring at the class.

"Today's free period, get to know the new students" he snapped before stomping out of the room. Akito raised an eye brow as he watched while, Sana looked a little peeved. At first we all just sat there, but I quickly shot a glare at Natsume before standing up and walking up to Sana with a loud "hmph!"

"So what are your Alice's?" I asked and I heard all the other classmates walk up to the front as well, except Natsume of course. I also noticed Akito had made his way to the back of the room, and sat down in a vacant seat before pulling out an Ipod and closing his eyes. I couldn't help but look between him and Natsume, who was still reading his manga.

However, when Natsume felt me starring at him, he looked up, causing me to blush slightly before frowning as I felt the urge to cry. I must've looked pathetic or something, because Natsume dropped his manga on his lap and shot me a strange look that seemed almost...worried? I quickly shook my head, before placing a mask on as I smiled. I then quickly turned my attention back to Sana only to notice Akito look between Natsume and I, with a look of what seemed like amusement in his eyes.

"Well, I don't really know what an Alice is, but Sensei told me I have the Performance Alice, while Hayama-kun has the Karate Alice. I do have a question though...where are we suppose to sleep? Sensei said we won't get assigned rooms until our star rank is assigned, and I don't even know what that is" she said and I thought about it.

"Well, I'm a three star student now, so I have enough room for you both to stay with me, if you don't mind" I said and the entire room went still except for Sana. I looked around and noticed that everyone was shocked, and some were just starring towards the back of the room at Natsume for some reason. "We'll just have to make sure the robot doesn't see Akito" I stated and Sana smiled.

"That's a great idea! What do you think Hayama-kun?" she asked and looked over at Akito. He slowly looked up, and glanced at Natsume, who only glared at him in response. However, I swear I saw a mischivous glint shine in Akito's eyes before he turned his attention back to us.

"I don't hate it" he stated before glancing at Natsume again and muttering something under his breath. I blinked, completely confused, before glancing at Hotaru and Ruka. Hotaru gave me a "you won't understand look" while Ruka just looked at Akito with a look that seemed to say "that kid has a death wish".

"Good it's settled! We're both sleeping with Mikan tonight. Oh my god! It's like a big sleep over! Won't that be fun Akito?" she exclaimed, and I could feel the room heat up, while whispers began to slowly fill the room. I looked over at Natsume so I could scold him for using his Alice, only to find him glaring at me as if I just did the worst thing in the world.

What the hell? Why is he angry at me? What did I possibly do now? I really don't understand him, sometimes he gets angry at me when I haven't even spoken to him! Like one day when was talking to Tsubasa-kun, one of my senpai's, he set my hair and Tsubasa's hair on fire. I mean what's up with that? I shot him a glare before straightening up and walking towards the back of the room to where Akito was sitting.

"Come on Akito-kun, Sana-chan, I'll give you a tour of the campus before we go back to my room and set up your beds" I stated before activating my Alice and grabbing Akito's hand. I then dragged him to the front of the room where I grabbed Sana's hand and pulled them both to the door. "Bye guys, see you at dinner!" I shouted over my shoulder before stepping out the door.

Once outside, I dropped both of their hands before stomping down the hall and grumbling under my breath. I don't know why I'm so upset, this isn't the first time he's acted this way, and I never got mad before...maybe I'm just upset that we're just friends.

"Hey, Mikan? Are you alright?" I heard Sana ask, causing me to jump slightly before turning myself around to face them. She was smiling at me with a confused look in her eyes, yet a gentle comforting smile. Akito on the other hand had a "what are you, stupid?" look in his eyes that made me laugh.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Natsume is just so frustrating! He gets mad at me for pretty much no reason! I was talking to my friend Tsubasa and he set my hair on fire! He has the fire Alice by the way...Oh! That's right! You two don't know what Alices are!" I exclaimed as I started walking again, only to have Sana and Akito follow suit. Akito quickly ran his fingers through his hair before muttering something about two dense idiots, but I ignored it and continued.

"Okay an Alice is basically like a super power. Not everyone has them, so the people who do are kinda special, though I don't like to think about it that way. Each Alice is unique depending on who the owner of said Alice is. My dad had the same Alice as me, which is the nullification Alice, but mine is stronger, and my other Alice came from my mom, but I'm still mastering it. It's rare to have more then one Alice, but you will find that a couple of people in this school have more then one Alice" I mentioned a-matter-of-factly, while Sana smiled.

"Oh, and there are four classes, except there's secretly a fifth one. The four main ones are the Latent class, the Somatic class, the Technology class, and the Special Ability class, which is the one I'm in. However the fifth one is called the Dangerous Abilities class, though the academy likes to hide it's existance" I said and Sana cringed.

"God that sounds scary, do you know anyone in that class?" she asked and I sighed loudly. We were now leaving the school and heading in the direction of Central Town. After all, I might as well introduce them to the most exciting place first.

"Well yeah...Natsume is in the Dangerous Abilities class, along with Tsubasa-senpai. Sana you're probably in the Somatic class because you have an active Alice. You may know the singer Reo Mori, he has the Voice Pheromone Alice, but no one in this school really likes him, its a long story, but he was in the Somatic class as well" I said and smiled at her. "Ruka Nogi, one of my friends is in that class, so you won't be lonely, he's really nice!" I exclaimed and I noticed Akito glare at me.

"Akito on the other hand will probably be in the Special Abilities class with me, but that's only if his Alice isn't proven dangerous, then he'll be transferred to the Dangerous Abilities class, but that's not something to hope for. They won't tell you this, but the students in the Dangerous Abilities class are forced to go on dangerous, sometimes life threatening missions for the school in order to keep us safe. Natsume is the only one who doesn't have to go on missions anymore" I whispered and Sana placed her hands on her hips.

"Why is that? What makes him so special?" she complained with a defensive tone in her voice. It's not the first time a new student found this unfair. I remember the day when they decided Natsume shouldn't go on missions anymore. Most of the Dangerous Abilities kids were angry and said he was recieving "special treatment". In fact, the only ones who weren't angry were Tsubasa-senpai, Youichi-kun, and amazingly, Persona, the classes instructor.

"Well...it has to do with Natsume's Alice Type" I said and instantly felt a lump in my throat, just like it always does when talk about this. It was just...scary to think about. I looked up and saw a confused look in her eyes, causing me to sigh loudly. "There are four types of Alice, the first one means you only have your Alice during your childhood, and it disappears as you grow, but we're in high school already so you don't have to worry about that" I stated, mimicking the way Nodacchi taught me back in elementary school.

"The second means your Alice is very explosive, with a lot of power, but it has a very short life time, and when I say very short, I mean _very _short. But again you don't have to worry about that since you've probably had your Alices for some time now" I said and she nodded. "Now the most common type of Alice is the third one, it means you have it for a long time, most of your life in fact, however you have a limited amount of power when you do use it which is of course understandable. After all, someone could run for miles at a time, but once they get to a certain point, they're just too tired to continue." I explained and they both nodded. I then sighed loudly as I gripped the sleeve of my uniform.

"The fourth type of Alice is the one Natsume has...it means you have unlimited use of your Alice, but each time you use it you...you..." I started but tears started to form in my eyes as I tried to continue the sentence.

"Mikan...what is it? What happens each time you use your Alice if you have the fourth type of Alice?" Sana asked, a pleading tone in her voice. I took a couple deep breaths before twirling the tip of my pig tail in circles. When I asked Hotaru why I always choked up when talking about this, she said it was because I didn't like the think about Natsume dying, or anything remotely close to that.

"Each time someone with the fourth type of Alice uses their Alice...their...their life span is shortened..." I muttered, and both Sana and Akito froze. "That's why he doesn't have to do missions anymore, it's an attempt to stop him from using his Alice as much" I stated and Sana frowned.

"I'm sorry, I got defensive before I knew what he was dealing with. I'm just use to people who get special treatment because of who they are. I'm very sorry" she muttered and I smiled at her. I was use to hearing this kind of reaction, because usually I like to explain the common things about this school to the new students, even if I'm not their partner.

"It's fine, any who, the next thing I should explain is star rankings. They are actually very simple, they're pretty much like a privilege reflected on your grades, your behavior, and so on. By privilege, I mean the amount of money you get as an allowance, the size of your meals, and the size of your bedroom is determined by your star ranking. No stars, which are the lowest rank, gets five hundred yen as an allowance." I stated and they nodded.

"Next is the single star, they get three thousand yen, double stars get five thousand yen, and triple stars get ten thousand yen. Now the highest star rank is the special star, and they get thirty thousand yen for their allowance, the only difference is we call our money rabbits, but they equal the same" I stated and Sana's eyes brightened up.

"Oh wow! That's a lot of money! Do you know a special star in our grade?" she asked and I laughed. Everyone always asked this question, and I had to tell them the one person in the high school branch that was a special star, well to my knowledge at least, but considering my uncle is the high school principle, I think I'd know whether or not there was another special star in our division.

"Um yeah, I only know of one special star in our division, and that's Natsume, he's been so since elementary school" I said and Sana smiled and rolled her eyes. "Natsume's my best friend, we've known each other since elementary school. It's funny, we use to hate each other, he use to be the boss of our class, everyone listened to whatever he said, though he never said much. God we had the most hectic classroom! I was the only person who stood up to him and he hated that" I stated before laughing.

"It's funny, the more I got to know him, and the more I learned about his problems, the more I realized he wasn't as bad as he seemed, he was just misunderstood, and had a terrible childhood" I said and I heard Sana laugh.

"Geez, that's exactly how Hayama-kun and I are, we use to hate each other, and now we're the best of friends!" she exclaimed and I smiled. Maybe I wasn't the only one who had a strange friendship. We continued the tour, stopping by every place I could think of, before I brought them back to my room. I decided to let Sana sleep in the bed and Akito said he'd be fine on the couch, so I got some blankets and pillows and prepared a make-shift bed on the couch, before setting up my own bed on the floor.

We then made our way down to the dinning hall to meet up with everyone else. Natually, we found everyone in one of the corner tables just like always, laughing and joking about who knows what. I smiled and waved at them before leading Akito and Sana to the lunch line. We each got our dinner, each of us getting a three star meal since the academy makes sure that all new students receive three star accommodations such as meals and allowance until their star rank is assigned. However, they must find a place to sleep until then.

"Hey guys! How is everyone?" I exclaimed and everyone looked up and smiled, well besides Hotaru that is, she looked rather emotionless, but you can tell by the look in her eyes that she was happy. We made ourselves comfortable in our seats, me sitting next to Hotaru, Sana next to me and Akito next to her. I noticed Akito seemed extremely fixated with the sushi on his plate. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed this because Sana laughed.

"Akito loves sushi, it's his favorite food" she stated and I smiled. I then noticed that Natsume's usual seat which was three seats away from mine on the opposite side of the table laid vacant. I looked around the dinning hall, searching for him but I couldn't find him anywhere.

"Hey guys, where's Natsume?" I asked, only to mentally slap myself. Why should I care where he is? Wasn't he mad at me? Wasn't I suppose to be mad at him? God it's always the same, even when I try not worry, I worry. What if they decided to make him do missions again? That probably wasn't likely, but I can't help but worry about it.

"After you left he was pissed and in a bad mood. Then Koko made some stupid comment so he set Koko's hair on fire before leaving. We haven't seen him since. He's probably in his room or something" Ruka said and I nodded before shrugging. Normally, I would ask what Koko said or go check on him, but I wasn't going to let myself do that this time.

Obviously my reaction shocked everyone because the table seemed to freeze. I silently ate my food as the conversations slowly began to rise up again, however I did hear my name every once in a while. After dinner, Akito excused himself, saying he was bored and wanted to go practice karate, so Sana and I made our way back to my room where I immediately went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, take a shower, and put my pajamas on.

However, when I came back into the room, I found Sana sitting on the floor, looking through what looked like a notebook, with bright smile on her face. I was just about to dismiss it when I realized that it was actually my sketch book...that was full of nothing but drawings of Natsume.

"Oh my god don't look at that!" I screamed before rushing over and grabbing the sketch book and clutching it to my chest. Sana just smiled before slowly taking the sketch book back and opening it as she flipped through the pages. I sat there, frozen, as I watch her eye each drawing before smiling at me again.

"These are really good" she said before closing it and handing it back to me. I muttered a thank you as I tucked the book under my mattress slowly so I wouldn't bend any of the pages. "You like him don't you?" she asked causing me to cringe before turning around.

"What? W-who...I don't know who you're talking about. Y-ou're crazy" I exclaimed before waving my hand as an attempt to shoo the question away. She just stood there with her arms across her chest and a look that said "I don't believe you". I sighed loudly before seating myself on the bed and pouting. "I wish I only liked him" I grumbled and she laughed before sitting next to me.

"I see, so you're in love with him?" she asked and I nodded before pouting again. "Trust me I know how you feel..." she stated and I was about to argue but she cut me off. "After all I've been in love with Akito since elementary school. How else could I understand your feelings so easily?" she asked and I froze.

"Oh my god you've been in love with Akito since elementary school? I've been in love with _Natsume_ since elementary school!" I whispered before placing my index finger on my chin. "God I never thought I'd meet someone who was in the same situation as I am..." I muttered and I noticed her face fall slightly before turning into a look of worry.

"Hey Mikan...have you or Natsume ever dated anyone?" she asked and I shook my head, which caused her to sigh in what looked like relief. "Thank god, I'm going to tell you this now, before coming to this school, I was on a TV show called Child's Toy, and that made me some what famous, so I was offered a movie roll. However the location was on this remote mountain that didn't have any phones or anything." She stated, and I just stood there, confused on where this was going.

"Well, while I was there I first realized I had feelings for Akito, the only problem was that I only just realized I liked him when I called him using the director's phone and he told me he was dating someone...my best friend Fuka. Because I thought he didn't feel anything towards me, I freaked out and tried to get over him by dating one of my friends Naozumi, he's the complete opposite of Akito so I was hoping that him and his personality would help me get over him. I then found out that Akito had always been in love with me and he said yes to Fuka because he thought I was dating Naozumi because of some _rumor_" she spat and I gasped quietly.

"So lets just say we went through a lot of problems when we didn't have to, and now we're not together because I lied and said I wasn't in love with him anymore, and he only sees me as a friend" she muttered and I noticed tears were forming in my eyes.

"That's so sad! And you guys never dated?" I asked and she shook her head, as tears started falling down her cheeks. I quickly hugged her as I listened to her sob softly into my shoulder. After what seemed like five minutes, she pushed away and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry I'm a little emotional when it comes to that subject. I guess the point of my story was to tell you to confess to him before it's too late, if you don't you're only gonna cause pain for yourself, him, and whoever you two end up dating, after all, Natsume and Akito are a lot a like, and what I've seen so far Ruka is a lot like Naozumi" she said and I cringed slightly. I have nothing against Ruka, but I just couldn't see him and I dating. Then again...I doubt Sana saw herself dating this Naozumi guy either.

"Well, we better go find Akito and help sneak him in here. The robot should be making her rounds on the other side of the building, and I have an ace up my sleeve" I said and smiled before winking at her. We walked through the hall ways and once outside we walked around campus looking for him, only to find him practicing his kicking on a tree. "Hey Akito-kun, we have to go back to our room" I said and he nodded. I then extended my hand which caused him to stare at me like I was crazy. "Just trust me, I'm gonna help you sneak in" I said and he groaned before taking my hand.

I took a deep breath before focusing on my Steal-Erase-Copy Alice I inherited from my mother. I then thought about one of the Alice's I copied from one of my senpai's who graduated already. Once the Alice went into affect, I heard Sana gasp, and I looked up and smiled.

"I don't get it, what did you do?" He muttered and I rolled my eyes before pulling the hand he was hold up in front of my face. "Oh" he said and I smiled as I starred at my hand that looked like it was clutching nothing but air. Two years ago I knew a girl in the Latent Ability glass who had the invisibility Alice, which I now used on Akito so we could sneak in.

"The great thing about my Nullification Alice is that you can never tell when I'm using it. The robots have a sensor so they can see whose using their Alice, so I can blame it on my nullification since it's practically always in effect" I whispered and Sana nodded. We all walked back to the dorms, and I made sure the hand was close to my side as I walked so it wouldn't look suspicious. Once we were in the building, we were almost to my room when one of the robots stopped us.

"Good evening Sakura-chan, who is this?" she asked, gesturing towards Sana who smiled at her. I smiled as well and made sure my hand was hidden behind my back so Robot-san couldn't see that my hand looked like I was holding on to something, or _someone_ for that matter.

"This is Sana Kurata, she's a new student so she needs to stay with me since she hasn't been assigned her star ranking yet. I'm her partner after all" I said before throwing my free arm around her shoulder. Robot-san was quiet for a moment, causing me to worry that she knew that Akito was there but that was dismissed when she started to walk down the hall again.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, try to turn that nullification Alice of yours off, we don't want you to be tired in the morning so you're late..._again_" she stated and I smiled at her before continuing down the hall towards my room. Once inside, I let go of Akito's hand and turned off the invisibility Alice, making him visible once again. I sighed loudly before collapsing on my make shift bed on the floor and smiling.

"Thanks for letting us stay with you Mikan, it means a lot to us" Sana said as she got into my bed, turning the light off in the process. Akito muttered something which I assumed was a thank you and I heard covers rustling, signaling he was laying down on the couch

When I woke up, I skipped all of my usual morning habbits and went straight into the bathroom to get ready to school. Akito and Sana were still asleep and I figured I should make sure they're on time for their first day. Plus, I couldn't possibly draw with Akito in here, I don't know if I can trust him.

Twenty minutes or so after I woke up, Akito was also awake and silently spent his time in the bathroom so he too could get ready. Once we were both finished, I woke Sana up and had her get ready just like Akito and I did, so we could go down to breakfast with the others.

Amazingly we made it to the dinning hall rather early, only Hotaru, Ruka, and Natsume were seated at our table eating, so once we got our food we joined them. At first Hotaru just eyed me as she ate her breakfast, while Ruka was quick to greet us. Natsume on the other hand didn't even look up. It's as if my first week at Alice Academy was happening all over again where Natsume would just ignore me.

"Wow, Sakura-chan you're up early" Ruka commented, breaking me from my thoughts. I smiled and looked at Sana who seemed to be studying Natsume from the corner of her eye. After a few moments, she turned to me and winked before mouthing "your drawings are _really_ good" which caused me to blush slightly.

"Well yeah, Akito-kun and Sana-chan slept in my room last night so I wanted to make sure they weren't late" I said and Hotaru looked at me before raising her eyebrow. She then closed her eyes before taking a napkin and wiping the corner of her mouth gently before folding her hands together.

"You are aware you're not Hayama's partner, right? There is no need for you to house him in your room" she stated and I pouted slightly before glaring at Natsume for a second. I then turned back to her and smiled brightly before putting my fork down.

"Well, Hyuuga isn't responsible in the slightest, and he's Akito-kuns partner, so I felt that letting Akito sleep in my room was the least I could to since his assigned partner is so negligent" I countered before standing up. "Well, I'll see you guys in class!" I announced before turning and heading towards the door.

However, I did see Sana whisper something to Akito before standing up as I turned around, along with Natsume starring at me with a strange look on his face. I can't believe I said that, did I even have the right? Why should I call Natsume negligent? After all he's done for me, after he's protected me constantly and always stood by me, so what if we got into a fight, we've fought thousands of times before and he's never said anything like that, so why should I?

Once I was outside I continued to walk, but a hand that grabbed my wrist restrained me. I turned around and saw Sana starring at me with an intense look in her eyes. In fact, she kinda looked angry.

"Mikan what the hell was that? Do you not remember what I told you last night? It's like you're doing the exact opposite of what I told you!" she exclaimed and I looked away. She was right, I was stupid and I shouldn't have done that, and I was doing the opposite of what she told me. I'm just being a bratty kid.

"I don't know, I really don't. I shouldn't have said what I said, but I let my negative emotions get the better of me. I'm scared. What if you're wrong? What if I tell him and it only makes things worse? I can deal with secretly loving him and being just friends, but I can't deal with him hating me" I said and sighed loudly.

"Let's go fix things" she said and smiled. I also smiled before following her back into the cafeteria to our table where everyone was sitting in silence. It wasn't much of a shock, after all Hotaru and Natsume were never ones for conversation, and Akito doesn't strike me as a social butterfly, which just leaves Ruka. However, I'm guessing they were confused about my little outburst.

"Hey guys, sorry about that" I said nervously as I took my place next to Hotaru. I then took a deep breath and looked up at Natusme who was starring at me with this strange expression that I couldn't read. "Natsume, I'm sorry about what I said, I had no right to call you that. I was just upset because I...well because.." I started but instead of finishing I just sighed loudly. I looked up at Sana who was looking at me expectantly, and the others who just sat there, waiting to hear what I had to say. "Never mind, it's not important, the bottom line is I'm sorry" I finished and I heard Sana groan loudly before shooting up in her seat.

"God it's like you want to turn out like me!" She yelled and when I opened my mouth to apologize she just frowned and looked away. "Save it, I'm leaving" she mumbled before walking briskly out of the room. I felt tears forming in my eyes so I buried my face in my arms and cried softly. Well, at least that's how it started. After a few minutes I started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Let's go" I heard Hotaru command before grabbing my arm and pulled me to my feet, only to drag me out of the cafeteria. I did notice, however, that Akito was no longer at the table and Natsume and Ruka were both starring at me. Ruka looked concerned, and Natsume...well honestly I couldn't really read his expression.

As soon as we were out of the dinning hall, Hotaru dragged me straight to her lab before slamming the door closed behind her. Once the door was shut, she hit a button on the wall and a robotic voice announced rather loudly that the "Sound Proof Mode has been activated". She then motioned for me to sit on her couch while she pulled her desk chair over. God I feel like a psycho in therapy.

"Explain." She demanded and I couldn't help but laugh a little on the inside. So much for therapy. However, I still had to explain what the scene in the dinning hall meant, and everyone knows that if you don't obey Hotaru...well...to put it nicely... you'll suffer.

So with that, I explained everything to her. My drawings, Sana's advice, what happened to her, everything. The entire time, I cried, and Hotaru just sat there and listened. After I finished, I started sobbing into my hands again. I heard her sigh, which meant she was annoyed and before I knew it, she wrapped her arms around me in a comforting hug.

"That pyromaniac is going to be the test subject of my newest Baka Cannon" she hissed and I couldn't help but laugh half-heartedly as I cried. After a few moments I sat up and wiped my eyes. As much as I appreciated Hotaru being protective of me, I didn't want her to do anything bad to him, because everyone in the academy knows that when Hotaru is angry, she could ruin anyone.

"Thanks Hotaru, but don't blame him, its not his fault. I just feel horrible, Sana is watching me re-live her life, she's watching me make the same mistakes she did, and she has a chance to stop it yet I'm not listening. It's not right" I said and Hotaru scoffed.

"But it's also not right for her to try to fix her mistakes through you. She has no right to tell you you're going to end up like her, you both are different, no matter how similar you may seem. Just like how Hyuuga and Hayama are both different, even though they're similar" she said and this time I scoffed at the idea.

"Of course they're different, Natsume's much more attractive" I stated and Hotaru raised her eyebrow. "Sorry, I forgot you had feelings for Ruka" I said before giggling. Yes it's true, after years of black mailing Ruka, Hotaru actually began to develope feelings for him. "Well, I guess we should get going, we don't want to be late for class" I said but made no move to stand up.

"Why don't we skip class today, we can go to central town" she said and I smiled brightly at her. She smiled slighty before stepping into a machine, and when she came out, she was wearing dark skinny jeans with white knee length high heel boots over them, a purple cami as a shirt along with a white zip up leather jacket. "Get changed" she ordered and motioned for me to get into the machine.

I did what she asked and once the door was closed a bright light enveloped me, and after a very uncomfortable breeze, the door opened again. I looked down and I was wearing a white skirt that reached mid-thigh with small light pink stars scattered across it in a way that wasn't too busy, but wasn't too subtle. As a shirt I was wearing a plain light pink long sleeved shirt with a scoop neck and over that I had a sleeveless white bolero shawl that drapped over my shoulders and tied loosely in the front by two thin strings. As for shoes, I had a pair of white, simple strappy heels on. The only difference was in the process my hair fell out of it's pig tails.

"You look cute" she complimented and I smiled. She then reached into her draw and pulled out two light pink ribbons and handed them to be so I could fix my hair. I was about to reach for them but stopped myself and smiled again.

"That's okay, I think I'm going to start wearing my hair down" I said and she nodded before handing me a brush. As I brushed my hair, I noticed that it was actually very pretty when loose. It fell six to seven inches past my shoulders and curled nicely around the tips. Not only that, but the color wasn't as bland as I remember, it was actually kinda like a chestnut color with very subtle blonde highlights.

"Good, it looks better that way" she stated and I froze. When Natsume, Ruka, Tsubasa, and I went to retrieve Yuu's Alice, Natsume and I were arguing by the lake and splashing each other, and once we finished, Natsume grabbed the tip of one of my pig tails and said "Do you still plan to have that kind of hairstyle in five years time? That hairstyle won't be suitable in five years' time. Put your hair down. Put it down, it looks better that way."

At the time, I was completely and utterly confused. Why would he possibly care about how I looked? The sad thing is I'm still confused, and every time I recall the memory, I blush brightly, just like the night it happened. Hotaru looked up and raised her eyebrow as if to say "what the hell?". I smiled and shook my head before taking her hand.

"Nothing, it's just a memory. That's all" I said before we both walked hand in hand out the door. We quickly stopped by my room and so I could grab my purse. I was about to leave when I noticed my sketch book sticking out from under my mattress, so I took it and tucked it into my purse since Hotaru mentioned she wanted to see my drawings.

We then went straight to central town and decided to go to the movies and see whatever was playing just to pass time and so Hotaru could sit and look through my sketch book during the previews. There were some students from each branch there, probably either skipping or they had free period. But what was strange was Hotaru decided to point out every time she caught a guy starring at me.

The movie lasted two hours or so, then we decided to go window shopping through out central town. As we walked around, Hotaru continued to point out whenever someone looked my way, which made me believe she was trying to get me to like someone besides Natsume. Besides that, everything was going fine...until I bumped into someone.

"Oh, Mikan, there you are. Hey, I wanted to say I'm sorry about what I said, I know it really upset you" Sana said after I bumped into her and I smiled shyly. I definitely wasn't planning on seeing her again today until we had to go to bed, especially after what happened. Nor did I expect to see Akito. But what got me interested was how she said she knew I got really upset by it.

"Wait how do you know I got upset? And what are you doing here?" I asked and I could tell Hotaru was considering whether she should give Sana a piece of her mind or not. I also noticed Sana looked guilty yet terrified. Akito on the other hand just looked bored.

"Well...after what happened in the dinning hall, I went straight to the classroom, and Akito followed me. Not long after that Natsume and Ruka barged in and Natsume demanded I tell him what I said to you. When I asked what he meant, he said you were crying after I left and after a long argument and Akito threatening to kill Natsume and vice versa, Ruka dragged Natsume out of the classroom and Akito and I came here. To put it in simple terms, Natsume was worried about you and his temper got to him, so we left and came here" she stated and I felt my chest clench.

Even though I was very happy that Natsume was worried about me, I was also angry that he treated Sana and Akito the way he did. After all, when Natsume gets angry, someone always gets injured. I scanned Akito over and noticed the tail of his shirt was charred slightly along with a burn mark or two on his arm.

"Did they fight?" I asked in a small voice and I noticed Sana pale slightly as she looked over at the burn marks on Akito's arms. They weren't that bad so they wouldn't scar, but they still must've hurt when they were inflicted. However, what was obvious was that Natsume was holding back, but the question is why?

"Well, Natsume threatened Akito, and Akito used his Alice on him, and Natsume fought back, but only defended himself, so he's in worse condition then Akito. I really don't know why he held back, it doesn't seem like him" she said and I looked down.

"It's not...oh no, maybe his Alice type is acting up!" I screamed before turning to Hotaru. "I have to go find him" I said and she nodded. I smiled slightly before turning around and racing towards the cherry blossom tree we usually talk at. As I got closer I saw him sitting there, leaning against the tree like always with his eyes closed and seemingly asleep. Yeah he was pissed.

However, when I got closer I noticed the bruises that were already forming on his arms, neck, and collar bone that seemed to lead down his chest along with some scratches all over his body except his face. He definitely didn't fight back, and barely defended himself.

"God why do you always get into fights?" I grumbled and he opened his eyes and looked at me for a second before closing them again. I sighed before sitting next to him and pulling out a handkerchief and slowly dabbing at the cuts on his arms. "Why didn't you defend yourself better?" I asked and he opened his eyes again.

"I see you saw them already" he stated and I rolled my eyes before glaring at him. "Because I didn't want to deal with you being pissed that I burnt your _friend_ to a crisp" he spat and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What's with that tone? So what if I'm friends with him? You don't have to say it like that" I stated and he glared at me. I don't understand it, he spat the word like it disgusted him and there was some other meaning behind it.

"That _tone _means that I know you like him. Why else would you let some stranger sleep in the same room as you? Obviously you want to date him" he growled, taking me back a bit. Once I regained my composure I glared at him again and crossed my arms over my chest.

"What makes you so sure that I like him? I barely know him! Who are you to tell me who I like or not?" I screamed and he grunted slightly before looking back at me with a look that screamed nothing but anger.

"I know that you like him because you couldn't stop starring at him when he came to school yesterday, then you took his hand and led him off somewhere when he wasn't even your partner! You must think he's hot or something if you're willing to let him sleep in the same room as you. Not to mention you've been ignoring me since they arrived, and Koko read your mind and told us you liked him. _That _is how I know you like him" he snarled and I glared at him.

"Okay first of all, I didn't speak to you because you were pissed at me for no apparent reason! I'm not even interested in him, Sana is the one whose in love with him and gave me advice on something that I didn't listen to, so she got mad!" I yelled and he rolled his eyes.

"I was mad at you because you decided to openly invite some guy to sleep in your room! What kind of idiot would let a stranger sleep with them?" he shouted and I crossed my arms over my chest before rolling my eyes.

"I let him stay with me because I knew you didn't want him around. Also, the only reason I kept starring at him was because I was thinking about how much his personality is like yours'. I am not attracted to him in the slightest, he's just another friend who I simply see as someone else in the room. I don't like him! Oh, and Koko couldn't possibly have read my mind because I had my nullification Alice activated all day yesterday, so he must've said that to start some rumor like he always' does. Why do you even you care if I let someone sleep in my room? Who are you to care?" I asked and he just grunted again.

"Yeah right, like I'm going to believe you, and who said I cared?" he scoffed while I groaned and stood up. He did the same and I noticed he was stumbling like he does when he uses' his Alice too much. Usually, I would rush to him and help him, but I couldn't possibly do so after that argument, so I just turned around and started walking. However, I stopped and turned around before reaching into my purse and pulling out my sketch book.

"If you're that concerned with who I like then see for yourself. Just don't complain to me" I stated before flinging the book at him, hitting him directly in the chest, and walking briskly away. As I turned the corner, I peeked from the corner of my eye and saw that he was sitting back down, starring at the sketch book before slowly reaching for it. With that, I quickly ran to my room, locking the door behind me.

Once I threw myself on my bed, I finally started to realize what I just did by giving him my sketch book. As my mind began to process the information, I could feel hot tears forming in my eyes as I thought about how I could of very well jeopardized our friendship.

"God I'm an idiot. Why were we even fighting? I could tell he was injured and angry, yet I still allowed him to pick a fight" I muttered to myself, then stopped. "Great..now I'm talking to myself, I wish I could rewind this entire day and fix everything" I grumbled before turning over so my face was buried in my pillow.

"Wait a minute" I murmured before sitting up and wiping the tears from my cheeks. "What the hell am I doing here where people can find me? I should be somewhere no one would think of looking" I muttered before smiling softly. "I know, I should go to the Northern Woods" I stated before getting up.

The only issue was how to get out of here. Chances are, someone will be on there way to my room right now looking for me, whether it's Sana, Hotaru, or...dare I say Natsume. So with that, I opened my window and looked at the tree that stood next to it. I took a deep breath before closing my eyes and jumped towards the tree as I grabbed the air frantically until my arms were wrapped around a branch.

When I was sure I wouldn't lose my grip, I slowly started to climb down without falling...or screaming. Sadly, when I had only one branch to go, my foot slipped causing me to fall right on my butt with a loud thud.

I quickly threw my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming or crying out in pain, and once I was positive I wouldn't make a noise, I slowly pulled my hand away and stood up. I quickly inspected my legs to make sure I didn't hurt myself on the way down, and once I was sure I was okay, I smiled and began to take a step forward. However, as my foot landed on the ground, a hand grabbed me from behind.

My first reaction was to scream as loud as I could before trying to break myself free from whoever was holding me captive. Sadly though, another hand quickly covered my mouth, muffling my screams. Tears started to form in my eyes yet again as I tried to break free, however a voice stopped me.

"God dammit, Mikan, stop screaming!" the person said, and froze as I heard the one voice I didn't want to hear, speak. Natsume slowly pulled his hand away from my mouth, and spun me around so I was facing him. I quickly looked down and clenched my fist to keep myself from crying. However I saw my sketch book fall in front of me, and before I had a chance to react, he tilted my chin up before crashing his lips on mine.

My eyes widened, but unconsciously I placed my palms on his chest and closed my eyes before responding to the kiss. I was about to pull away, so I could figure out what exactly his motives were, but he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer before leaning his head slightly so he could deepened the kiss. I slowly removed my hands from his chest and wrapped them around his neck, pressing myself against him.

My heart accelerated, and I could feel my face flush a bright red as he moved his hands from the small of my back to my waist before trailing down to my hips. After a few moments, we both pulled away, and I took a deep breath before placing my forehead against his.

"W-what...what was that for?" I asked breathlessly before looking into his eyes and blushing again. He slowly pulled away and kissed my forehead gently before taking one hand and intertwining his fingers with mine.

"...I'm...sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so pissed off...I was...jealous" he muttered, and I saw for the first time a slight pink blush tint his cheeks. "I thought...I was going to lose you to some other guy before I had the chance to...tell you my feelings" he murmured before closing his eyes. "God dammit why is this so hard" he groaned before running his fingers through his hair.

"Polk-...I mean...Mikan...I..I love you" he whispered and I blushed brightly before turning my head to the side slightly. He tilted his head down so his bangs were covering his face, and wouldn't make eye contact. My brain tried to process his words, but after a few seconds I just tilted my head to the side, wide-eyed.

"E-excuse me? W-what did you just say?" I asked and he groaned before pulling away and pacing, while he pushed his hair back with both his hands. I couldn't help but find his actions slightly amusing, I mean, I've never seen him so flustered before.

"God Mikan, do I really have to say it again? That kind of thing is hard enough the first time!" he complained and I couldn't help but smile at how innocent he looked right now. Kinda like a child who was confessing to his mother that he broke her favorite vase. I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts, however, when he walked back over and cupped my face with his hands. "I..love you. I have ever since you saved me from Reo" he muttered before placing his lips on mine once again.

This time I immediately kissed back, as I reached up and tangled my fingers in his hair. When we pulled apart I took his hand in mine and smiled at him. I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched, but at the moment I didn't care.

"I love you too, but you knew that, but you don't know that I only realized it when you said my name for the first time during the dance at the Alice Festival" I whispered and I saw him smiled slightly. It wasn't like one of my smiles, it was small, and you could still see pain behind it, but it was there, and at the moment, it showed that at the moment, he was truly happy and content.

"I knew that was a mistake, if I didn't do that, I would've had a chance of protecting you from getting to close" he muttered before pushing a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Didn't I tell you that I didn't want your protection when we went to get Yuu's Alice back? I want to be your strength" I stated and he raised an eyebrow before muttering something about me being an idiot. "You know, I really like when you're all flustered and open with your feelings, it's a nice change" I said before giggling and he growled under his breath.

"Yeah, well don't get use to it" he countered, causing me to laugh and roll my eyes. He smiled again, causing me to get an idea for my next drawing, so I bent down and grabbed my sketch book before clutching it to my chest.

"Jerk" I teased before giggling again. "Well, I guess that's a good thing considering I didn't fall in love with that part of your personality" I sing-songed before sticking my tongue out at him. He whispered something about me being a "stupid little girl". But none the less, he smirked and kissed my forehead again.

**Meanwhile Sana's POV-**

"Why didn't you two tell her that after you left you told Akito everything?" Hotaru asked, eyeing our intertwined hands. I smiled before leaning my head on his shoulder and laughing as if it was the most ridiculous question I've ever heard.

"Because, if I did, then she would continue to wait because she'd assume that everything would work out in the end, but there is a chance that that wouldn't be the case. I figured the sooner she confesses the better, and it seems that I was right" I stated and Hotaru nodded before pulling out her camera and taking another picture of the two.

"So wait, why'd you and Natsume fight like that if you knew the truth behind everything?" Ruka, who joined up with us after he saw Mikan running towards the cherry blossom tree. I could tell by the way he leaned closer to Hotaru then necessary that he had feelings for her, and I could tell by the way she kept glancing at him that she felt the same.

"He's an idiot, I was angry that I was the same. At least I got to screw with him by making him jealous" he stated nonchalantly and Ruka smirked slightly. I smiled and looked back at Mikan who was laughing about something.

"Well you're lucky Natsume held back for Mikan's sake. I could tell he was pissed and usually when he's that pissed at someone, they never make it out without intense third degree burns. No offense but you would never stand a chance" Ruka said and I saw Akito glare at him before glaring at the air.

"I know" he hissed and I laughed lightly. Of course Akito is aware that Natsume could beat him, and of course he's angry about it. After all, Akito is always held up in his pride. He hated to admit that he could be defeated by someone, and I'm sure Natsume is the same way.

"Pervert!" we heard someone scream, only to turn and see Mikan walking away from Natsume with a peeved look on his face. Natsume on the other hand, easily caught up to her and spun her around before cupping her chin and placing his lips on hers, shutting her up almost instantly.

"I'm glad everything worked out" I murmured before smiling at Akito who looked emotionless as usual. "Now I have to work on those two" I whispered to Akito before glancing at Ruka who was trying to convince Hotaru not to sell the pictures of Natsume and Mikan kissing.


End file.
